Who's the Highest Paid Pharmacist?

[clachan3]

I've gotten a few job offers in the Chicagoland area (all retail):

Approximate starting salaries:
Walgreens: 105,000
CVS: 106,000
Osco/Supervalue: 98,500
Dominick's/Safeway: 98,750
Target: 98,000

Kind of have to pay attention to how many hours you have to work per week. When I worked at CVS it was 40 hours, at Target it's 42 hours a week... I did not know until I was negotiating with the Target recruiter. After working 42 hours average a week (one 46 and one week 38) for a while, I kind of miss working 42 and 38...

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[Momus]

In terms of pay/stress order in retail:
1. CVS - more volume, more metric based, better 401k match and highest salary
2. WAG - in between CVS and RAD, as good as CVS for 401k match if not better
3. RAD - less volume, less metric, ****ty 401k match, least salary, possibility of going bankrupt
4. Groceries - less volume & pay than all of the above

 

[TpharmD]

I think supermarkets/groceries pay the best and also the stress is less...ie wal-mart, target, kroger, meijer, etc..some also provide half hr lunch break

 

[rxblitzrx]

CVS pays between $57 and $60 per hour as a starting rate in well populated areas of northern Califronia. I'm guessing it gets higher as you move out into the boonies.

 

[Mister M]

I have some friends who own their own stores. For the record, their "pharmacist salary" is usualy 80k. They take the rest of the income as a "business owner" for tax reasons. As for the hours they work, if you actually own the store its alot (possibly 60+ per week). There is always lots of room for possible growth in the industry (you can work your way all the way up to President of Novartis Pharma like David Epstein). Chain retail is a great way to make lots of money fast (55/hr) which can be very tantalizing to fresh graduates, although may not be worth the stress. For the record, I am a medical writer (work for a pharmaceutical agency) and worked in retail for over 6 years.

owing a store i hear is the bomb. risky, buy payoff can be ludicrous. anywhere from 200k-400k. find a niche and market!

 

[Just Because]

I know plenty of independent retail owners that make over 1million... but then again they have a good location and own 4 pharmacies